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London’s Covid-19 unemployment crisis laid bare as data shows 171% surge in claimant count BEFORE Rish Sunak’s furlough scheme ends this weekend

<p>Chancellor Rishi Sunak is under pressure to protect more jobs as his furlough scheme ends this weekend</p> (PA)

Chancellor Rishi Sunak is under pressure to protect more jobs as his furlough scheme ends this weekend

(PA)

London is in an unprecedented unemployment crisis even before the furlough scheme ends this weekend, with benefit claimants here rocketing 171% since the Covid-19 crisis, figures showed today.

The furlough scheme will be  replaced on Monday by the less generous Job Support Scheme, which is set to throw more people into joblessness.

Analysis of Office for National Statistics data from early March to October shows the claimant count surged in Inner and Outer London by  308,265 over the period to 488,140.

That largely comes on top of the 557,400 Londoners registered as furloughed in the most recent data. Many of those will now be facing redundancy as the scheme ends.

The figures, collated by the Evening Standard, add to pressure on the Government to do more to support struggling industries in lockdown.

A total of 8.1% of Londoners claim unemployment benefits compared with the UK average of 6.5%.

The true unemployment picture will be even worse, because many out of work are not included in the claimant count, which is a mix of old Job Seekers Allowance claims and Universal Credit applicants required to seek jobs.

Layoffs in hospitality, tourism and retail have sent hundreds of thousands of London households into dire straits.

Kate Nicholls, chief executive of UK Hospitality, said: “While the Government’s plan for jobs is a lifeline for many, it is simply not sufficient in central London where many hotels, bars and restaurants are facing trading levels below 10%. We are in danger of losing businesses, not just jobs, the longer this crisis continues.”

The claimant count has surged most in Newham, home of the Westfield Stratford shopping centre. There, the numbers jumped 17,145. Areas like Haringey and Brent have also seen major surges, up 13,440 and 15,190.

The figures were partly so stark because the labour market was strong going into the pandemic.

But the data shows even in areas of already high worklessness, the percentage increase has been unprecedented.

In Brent, Croydon, Tower Hamlets, Southwark and Newham, where unemployment has always been high, the claimant count more than doubled.

The new JSS scheme replacing the furlough system has been revised to make it more generous but experts say it is still likely to end in more job cuts.

Area

Claimant count increase since March

Camden

up 6910 to 11065

City of London

up 170 to 255

Hackney

up  11535 to 19010

Hammersmith & Fulham

up 6100 to 10655

Haringey

up 13440 to  20300

Islington

up 7720 to 13390

Kensington & Chelsea

up  3865 to 6190

Lambeth

up  12655 to  21445

Lewisham

up 12265 to 20385

Newham

up  17145 to  25010

Southwark

up 11865 to  20235

Tower Hamlets

up 12565 to  20620

Wandsworth

up 9430 to 14,300

Westminster

up 6310 to 10130

Outer London

 

Barking and Dagenham

up 8445 to 13970

Barnet

up 12500 to 18880

Bexley

up 5975 to 9185

Brent

up 15190 to 22575

Bromley

up 7760 to  11830

Croydon

up 13885 to 23415

Ealing

up 13885 to 23415

Greenwich

up 10260 to 16360

Harrow

up 7990 to  11285

Havering

up  6855 to 10880

Hillingdon

up 9935 to 14370

Hounslow

up 10055 to  16450

Kingston upon Thames

up 4100 to 6305

Merton

up 6530 to 10180

Redbridge

up 10935 to 15935

Richmond upon Thames

up 4120 to 6190

Sutton

up 4670 to 7795

Waltham Forest

up 12385 to 18530

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